HBAI on a Mission

June 30, 2017

HBAI Board is On A Mission

Allen Drewes, HBAI 2017 President

With the enactment of our new 5-year Strategic Plan and a renewed effort to increase PAC funds, HBAI Board Meetings are evolving from a three hour report from HBAI staff, to a “start on time, buckle your seat belts, and prepare to work session” that is moving this association in ways we’ve never seen before.

Our long range strategic plan has been designed to avoid being a white paper of well-intended ambitions that is put on a shelf and collects dust until the next plan comes along. Instead, our plan is a “to-do list” spreadsheet that is infused into each of our committee agendas and must be addressed at every occasion we meet.

HBAI has two targets we are aiming at for 2017:

Improve the Quality of our Communications and our Image; and,
Increase Relationships with Law Makers.

Board Members, HBAI Staff, and Local Executives are rolling up their sleeves and are working in a collaborative fashion to bring HBAI into an era where all of our members here in Illinois will know what the State Association is doing and how they, themselves, can help.

Here are the bullets from our Tuesday, June 27^th meeting.

Member Services Committee / Improve Quality of Communications & Image:

Affinity Program Checks were issued to local associations totaling over $700.
Through their participation in the IHBPEC Mega Raffle, Tom Kissel of Springfield HBA and Jeff Schmidt of Greater Southwest Ill. HBA each received $50 gift cards from Heritage Home Design and Décor. The Mega Raffle now has over $3000 and the winning $20 ticket stub will be pulled at our December Board Meeting.
HBAI is working toward producing weekly podcasts to our members that will highlight state and local events. Local associations will be encouraged to participate.
The HBAI website is in for an overhaul. It will be mobile friendly and will interface with all social media. We need $2000 to pay for this work and are asking our local associations to chip in $200. Greater Springfield HBA has already made their commitment.
A Google Calendar will be shared between the State and Local Associations to share upcoming association meetings and functions.
Each Local President, E.O., and Area Vice President is now receiving “Three Things to Know About HBAI” at the beginning of each month. Use this to report to your membership what is going on at HBAI.
Other tasks include branding our image and integrating our communications strategy; all of this is with a goal to “Increase and Strengthen Membership.”

Government Affairs Committee / Increase Relationships with Law Makers:

HBAI will create a data base of member relationships with State Lawmakers.
Forms will be distributed to each local association to be filled out at membership meetings and board meetings. We need names, numbers, and email addresses, along with which Representatives and Senators you know.
A “Team Drive” will be created that will allow Local E.O.s to insert this information on their own, and will be shared with the State Association.
In-district meetings will be scheduled outside of Springfield to initiate and enhance relationships with our members and key legislators in the Illinois General Assembly.
Members on this list will be encouraged to call directly to their legislators or write them when a bill appears that affects the housing industry.
VoterVoice will eventually be used as a secondary tool to communicate with state legislators.

Illinois Home Builders Political Education Committee / IHBPEC is now HomePAC

Though not a part of the original Strategic Plan, the emergence of this year’s Home Repair Tax caused many on our board to realize we are not at the table, nor even in the room on decisions being made that affect our industry. Our allies and adversaries are reaching the $1 million mark in political action committee (PAC) funds. IHBPEC barely raises $25,000 per year and we are not regarded as an entity to include on matters most important to our industry and to this state.

A sub-group of HBAI Board Members have been sharing ideas of how to bring change to our ability to raise PAC funds that will provide protection to our businesses and create a stronger voice for our industry. Our goal is to raise $250,000 per year to protect our members.

To this end, we are creating what will essentially be a new PAC fund with suggested contribution amounts based upon annual monetary sales of homes, remodeling work, and business services. There will be contribution levels that are being determined in the very near future and presented to our entire membership.

And finally, something we have wanted to do for years: change the name of our PAC fund to better reflect who we are. The paper work has been submitted this week to the Illinois State Board of Elections that changes our name. The “Illinois Home Builders Political Education Committee” will now have a new name and a new face: “HomePAC.” Checks and contributions will now be made to HomePAC and our contributions to legislative candidates will come from HomePAC.

The New HBAI

All of this happened on Tuesday, June 27^th, not to mention a legislative report, a report on matters at NAHB, and a number of reports on what’s happening at our locals. It was a busy day.

We want to raise membership and we want to have more influence in Springfield; these are basic and realistic goals. HBAI is moving forward and we are not looking back. Please join us in these endeavors; we cannot do it without you.